Jennie Hansen review - click here.

Julie Coulter Bellon review - click here.

Jeffrey Needle review - click here.

Below is the review by Jeffrey Needle.

Title: No Way Out
Author: Christine Kersey
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Genre: Fiction
Year Published: 2005
Number of Pages: 289
Binding: Quality Paperback
ISBN: 1-59156-845-5
Price: #15.95

Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle

"No Way Out" is Christine Kersey's first novel. First efforts by authors
reflect the author's best effort, and sometimes give a idea of the author's
potential given time and experience. Some first novels are dismal. There
are several I refused to review -- they were that bad! This book was
pretty good, a nice first effort by this new author.

Abby and Eric Breuner are a happily married LDS couple, living in
California. Eric works full time at a local construction firm as an
accountant. Abby works part time at the local public library. Abby is
pregnant with their third child. They have two daughters.

One day, when Eric fails to show up to a doctor's appointment with Abby,
she is at first puzzled and angry, but the anger turns to worry as evening
comes and she's had no word from her husband. Where has he gone? No one
has seen him at work, either.

Eric has some skeletons in his closet. Past drug use seems to loom over
their marriage, a hope that he would never return to that lifestyle, the
fear that it might happen. Could this account for Eric's absence? Was he
using again, or maybe even selling? And with Eric seemingly gone, how
could she care for her children, and the child coming, by herself?

Abby turns to her "family unit" -- she has a sister and a mother she can
call upon. But this is not an entirely functional family Kersey does a
good job painting a picture of a *real* American Mormon family. No picture
perfect group here, just a collection of people with their biases,
hang-ups, and deep failings.

As the story progresses, we learn more and more about Eric's strange
absence. When the FBI and the police are called in, the plot begins to
come together, bringing us to an excitingly-written climax.

Kersey shows some real skills in this book. It is clear that she's thought
through the story line carefully. Her pacing is good, her grasp of real
people living in a real world showing in each episode.

One problem I had with the book -- if it can be called a problem -- is that
she tends to be a bit heavy-handed when it comes to laying down the clues
to the mystery of Eric's disappearance. Clearly she wants to leave
literary bread crumbs for her readers to follow. I figured out who the bad
guy was about halfway through the book, and was rather smug when it turned
out I was right. Ach, it was easy. When the aim is to entice the reader
into discovering the villain, the clues ought to be more subtle. Such
nuanced writing is very difficult to do.

This reservation aside, "No Way Out" is an engaging first novel, filled
with interesting characters and not a whiff of Pollyanna religion. The
Breuner's faith in the gospel lies beneath their actions and motives, but
never interferes with the flow of the story.

My guess is that Kersey will continue writing. I hope so. "No Way Out" is
good reading, just in time for the summer vacation.


-----------------------------------
Jeff Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.com